Sir – Councillor Ian Hudspeth is not the only person who is concerned about the lack of progress in providing Oxford with a new station with a ‘fully-integrated bus terminus’ and the desire for a development that will be a ‘great gateway’ into Oxford (Report, May 29).

However, most of those arriving at Oxford station have not come to see the traffic maelstrom that is Frideswide Square, a space that pedestrians and cyclists cross of necessity, not by choice.

The Oxford Civic Society and other organisations, believe that the recommendation to the county council by Arup a decade ago, pointing out the advantages of building a new station at Oxpens, should at least be examined seriously. There is a once-in-a-century opportunity to provide that ‘great gateway’ through a flagship development that could also provide the housing that the city urgently needs.

The brief to which the consultants Aedas have worked is based on the West Area Action Plan which is obsolete, pre-dating as it does this decade’s huge railway developments and the ambitions for the economic development of the Oxfordshire Science Arc.

Any technical objections by Network Rail and First Great Western, such as slightly curved platforms, could easily be resolved, as at York, Newcastle and Paddington. Arup’s figures showed that the rail costs for a station with four through platforms were similar at the two sites.

The cost of improving the Botley Road bridge should not influence the choice, as it can be justified on road grounds alone. The Oxpens scheme, requiring only a four-track bridge, would make it cheaper and the YHA could be saved.

Dr Andrew Pritchard Convenor, Oxford Civic Society Transport Group